It has been almost six years since Pluto was demoted from being the ninth planet in the solar system. At present this celestial body is known to be a dwarf planet; rounding the solar system to only eight planets with Neptune being the farthest from the sun. However recently it seems like a new contender for the Earth's eighth neighbour has been discovered.
Earlier this year, Caltech scientists, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown, revealed impressive evidence of the existence of a ninth planet in the solar system. The pair made the discovery through mathematical modelling and computer simulation.
Batygin and Brown have yet to directly observe the speculated planet. However, Brown has gushed about the certainty of their findings. Brown, who has been instrumental in declassifying Pluto, he is adamant about the supposed ninth planet.
"This would be a real ninth planet," quipped Brown in a press release published on Caltech's official website.
Batyagin explains the reason why the discovery is nothing more than exciting. The scientists reveal that they themselves were apprehensive about the existence of planet nine. However, once the ninth planet is observed it would be the first planet to have been discovered in more than a century.
"Although we were initially quite sceptical that this planet could exist, as we continued to investigate its orbit and what it would mean for the outer solar system, we become increasingly convinced that it is out there. For the first time in over 150 years, there is solid evidence that the solar system's planetary census is incomplete" explained Batygin in the same press release.
Recently, Brown excitedly confirms that new evidence has been discovered that support the existence of the ninth planet. In a tweet sent out last March 25, 2016, Brown revealed that a KBO or Kuiper Belt Object has been discovered. The scientist explained that this newly discovered object is at the exact place where the supposed ninth planet should be located.
"Hey Planet Nine fans, a new eccentric KBO was discovered. And it is exactly where Planet Nine says it should be" read the tweet as reported by Popular Mechanics.